[scottiet]

I started studying for FAR in mid December and took the section on the 28th of February. Every day I wake up at 4:30 a.m. and get to work by 5:30. For the next two and half hours I watch videos and take notes. At 8 works starts, usually during the day I have free time to do 50-100 MCQ at my desk. Every day I go to the gym, I’ll do cardio for 30 to 50 minutes while reading the Becker text. Then back to work and do more MCQ and also have the Becker lecture running in the background. I never study at night, because my head hurts too bad to function.

Every weekend I wake up at 6am run to Starbucks and then head back to work.I don’t study at home because there’s too may distractions for me. I Hit videos, notes and MCQs for 8 hours. I’ve never taken a day off, my girlfriend doesn’t understand why I wake up so early or why I don’t sleep in. I tell her “no pain no gain” and “thank god for Aderol”.

I just started AUD, praying that I have passed FAR so I don’t have to open the text ever again. For AUD I’m trying a new technique. Watch the videos over and over and over again before moving to the MCQs and next topic. I hoping this will reinforce the material, because auditing is a bit foreign to me. For the FAR section I watched the videos once or twice then moved to MCQs. Most of the time I didn’t have a good grasp of the material before moving on.

FAR- 88 2/28/2012
AUD- 88 5/3/2012
REG- 84 7/31/12
BEC- 83 10/19/12

[Minimorty]

@goodluck – If you had actually read CPAWannaBe84's post you would have noticed why he/she spends five minutes per question.

“However, I spend alot of time understanding every single MCQ; why did I get it right, why did I get it wrong, take notes, and move forward.”

That is the right way to go about learning the material. If you applied a similar approach, instead of racing through the MCQs for no reason, perhaps you'd understand the material a little bit better and avoid some of those failing scores.

I am confident that CPAWanna knows that he/she will not have 5 minutes per question on the exam.

[Anonymous]

“That is the right way to go about learning the material. If you applied a similar approach, instead of racing through the MCQs for no reason, perhaps you'd understand the material a little bit better and avoid some of those failing scores.”

hahaha epic win

[Anonymous]

@Minimorty

Haha… You said it perfectly and you are right.

@goodluck2everyone

Needless to say, I know what I am getting into with this exam, so I know the time constraints. Most of my time spent on MCQ's is the understanding portion, again, why did I get it right, or wrong. During the CPA exam their obviously isn't a post understanding session per MCQ; only a selection session. So I'll apply logic and make my selection in adequate time, but I spend a considerable amount of time reading explanations and finding the logic and so far I've always found the logic; my goal is to try to memorize as little as possible. I think someone already said it best, but there's no sense in racing thru MCQ's while studying.

[goodluck2everyone]

@mini

I couldn't care less about your opinion. Get off your high horse and spend more time with your two kids instead of trying to one-up someone you don't even know over the internet. Time spent on this site: 600+ hours? Every time I log on this site, you're online. Do yourself a favor and click the little X on the top right corner of your screen and do something more productive with your time.

@baseball

epic win? What are you, 8 years old?

@ cpa

whatever floats your boat. You can take 100 hours to do 100 MCQ, I couldn't care less. I'm just trying to help you be more efficient with your time. In my opinion, it's better to do 3000 MCQs twice and cover every topic possible instead of mastering <1000 MCQs and getting burned on the exam because they didn't emphasize those topics.

BEC- 80
REG- 68, 71, July
AUD- 61 , 84
FAR- -- 75 🙂

[Anonymous]

@scottiet

You seem to be a very disciplined candidate and I wish I had those qualities.

@Kricket and everyone who can relate with my situation:

After reading all these posts, I am wondering if I have ADHD. Every time I sit to study, I actually spent at most 1/3 of the time for actual studying and the rest is spent in bs. Just an example, last night I made coffee, tea, and started studying at 10PM until 5AM. Guess what: may have read about 10 pages of the text and 25 MCQ. I visited the kitchen like 5 times after reading a couple of pages and put on more junk in my belly. The rest of the time I read a complete murder file online like I was the head investigator of the case. In the morning, I was so mad at myself (as usual) for the lack of productivity and waste of this valueable. This a very major problem for me. I went to my primary physician long time ago when I was in school for the same exact reason and asked for addrrell but I didn't get it and he told that I have to see a psychiatrist for that.

On the other hand, I have very good memory and retention of materials. Once I read something with the concentration and attention (which is a big challenge for me), I usually remember the whole little details which I don't even need to remember but for some reason it just sticks somewhere in my brain. When I was a young kid I was teaching myself English and I thought that if I memorize the dictionary that would be it and I will become master of the English language. For few months I started memorized words and would have my brother check my answers. I would tell him (on most of the words) which page to go and check my answer on the dictionary until someone laughed at me and told me that language is not learned by memorizing words from dictionary. I studied for REG recently but finished only 2/3 of the materials only once, but for the parts that I did read, I can remember all those details if a particular thing was written on left side or right side of the page, top or bottom and what I was doing at the time I was reading that or what I was thinking. However, my biggest challenge is just to force myself to focus and concentrate and don't allow myself to get distracted but I am weak in self control. For me an hour of full concentration equals 8 hours hard physical labor and is not easy and get too tired.

[scottiet]

CAL CPA, that's why I go to work to study. It would be too easy to turn on the tv and crack a beer.

FAR- 88 2/28/2012
AUD- 88 5/3/2012
REG- 84 7/31/12
BEC- 83 10/19/12

[mla1169]

CAL CPA, for what its worth I would never take an Rx for adderall from a GP. I think that a true diagnosis of ADHD takes more than a GP allows time for.

FWIW, when my son was diagnosed I INSISTED he see not only a GP and a psychiatrist, but also a neurologist. I didn't want to leave any stone unturned and I didn't want him misdiagnosed. It was only after seeing 3 doctors that I allowed him to start the med.

For myself, I saw a psychiatrist. I was seeing her for 3 months when she first tried to diagnose me but waited until I'd been seeing her for 8 months before I reluctantly tried the concerta. I believe that just about anybody who actually WANTS adderall can manage to get a script for it somehow even if not on the first try. In fact I don't understand why it isn't just sold over the counter (an exaggeration of course since it is a methamphetamine) since its as common as tylenol.

But my point is if you do think its possible, definately schedule the appointment with a psychiatrist. Funny thing is over the course of the last 20 or so years I've taken different anti-depressants and anxiety meds. None of them really helped me. The concerta really does since the ADHD was the real problem I had, not depression or anxiety. Go figure.

Goodlucktoeveryone, I know you don't care, but you come across as angry. From playing armchair doctor to thinking anybody cares about your opinion.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Mom2two]

@Kricket and JoMarie…both of you are such an inspiration for perseverance!! I do yoga in the evening after studying and it really helps me with anxiety. Once I incorporated yoga and breathe work into my study habits and during the exam, I feel like a different person!! 🙂 I use a website called yogaglo.com to stream the yoga classes. It has a monthly fee but there is a 2 week trial membership. The classes for relaxation are what I use after studying in the evening. Nothing too difficult so don’t worry if you have never done yoga. Maybe it will help. I know it made a huge difference to me for mental clarity. Good luck to everyone!

B: 81 (3X) May 2012
A: 76 (1X) Nov 2011
R: 86 (2X) Feb 2012
F: 64, April 2011, retake 10.01.12 - 75!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

To all the people who believe you have “ADD” because you fart around the computer instead of studying, I can assure you its perfectly normal to procrastinate. Our society has become so intellectually lazy we'd rather pop a pill then actually exercise any kind of mental discipline. If you take medicine for legit reasons then I'm not talking about you, just the people who think they need a pill because they don't want to apply themselves. I used to see it all the time in college, especailly during midterms and finals week. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I just think it’s a very sad thing to see…

[Anonymous]

I was diagnosed with ADHD less than a year ago at 28. Up to that point, I had graduated from a highly ranked law school, passed 3 sections of the CPA exam, and worked through three very long and busy tax seasons. I achieved those things not because I worked hard but because I am very intelligent (not bragging, it's just reality).

I was never good at studying. There sheer mental effort that it required to focus on something that I didn't find interesting was physically exhausting. I would procrastinate and put off studying until the last minute until so I'd end up staying up all night chain smoking and drinking redbulls just to stay awake until an exam. Each time, I would get frustrated with myself and my lack of willpower and swear not to do it again. Inevitably, each time I needed to study for something, the same thing happened. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion where I knew the final result but couldn't do anything to stop it.

I passed REG, BEC, and AUD with less than 12 hours of actual study each. I passed the bar exam with 3 days of study. What I couldn't do was work in tax for >10 hours a day, every day, for the rest of my life because I found the constant mental focus exhausting. It affected every aspect of my life from my relationships, my happiness, and my health. So I went to a psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with ADHD and generalized anxiety (not a great combo in terms of pharmaceutical treatment). I started taking Lexapro for the anxiety and Vyvanse for the ADHD, then later added Intuniv to the Vyvanse to offset some of the amphetamine-related anxiety from the Vyvanse.

My life has since improved tremendously – I'm happier, I get more done at work, and I can focus on something without stopping every 2 minutes to read random articles on Wikipedia. Don't listen the ignorant skeptics that tell you that you're lazy or stupid. There is a difference between procrastination and mental disorder. Find a psychatrist and describe your symptoms. They've seen it all before and they generally know what they're doing.

[MrNormalGuy]

drg1983…that's pretty impressive…

When I finish the CPA, I'm going to start a dog walking business….you can make 200,000 a year watching dogs if you're friendly….

far:
aud:
reg:
bec:

[Anonymous]

dtomasello – I wasn't having problems with procrastinating but with focus. Meaning I could write a half page of notes and not know what I had just written. I couldn't remember anything because I didn't actually learn it. I think my scores are proof that I am committed and trying and not half-a$$ing this thing.

I WAS one of those people who thought ADD was just a way to sell more drugs. Now I know the bitter truth. For me the battle with ADD started when my son was in Kindergarten. He could read, write, and solve simple Algebra equations at 5. When I say he could read, I'm not talking about Jack and Jill, I mean he read the first three Harry Potter books in Kindergarten. I knew he was smart but I didn't know why his grades were so bad. I met with the principle, a counselor and his teacher. All three of them said “He's ADD”. They gave me a questionaire that they had partially filled out and told me to fill out the rest and go to a particular doctor for evaluation. I took my son and their questionaire to our regular GP. She laughed at it! There were 10 questions with a 10 point standard deviation. No matter what I said their test was going to say he had ADD. She gave me her test, 26 pages long, and said to have the school fill it out. They did their part and then we started going to LSU Medical School and Health Sciences Center for further testing and diagnosis. I wasn't about to let them put my child on drugs that he didn't need. After a battery of pshychological and physical tests I met with the six doctors assigned to my son's case. Their tests showed that he was profoundly gifted in Mathematical Analytical Skills and Highly Gifted in Reading Comprehension. His IQ is over 160, but he is dyslexic and dysgraphic. He has a rare condition that has caused his right brain and left brain to be attached in several places, which we saw on the MRI or whatever that thing was. Which means that he is analytical and creative. I had no idea how smart he really was at that time but I was glad there was a name for why his handwriting was so bad. They said he was NOT ADD/ADHD and said that medication would be contraindicated. The school didn't like the diagnosis so he was dealt grief for years before we pulled him out to homeschool him. They even went so far as to deny him access to the Gifted and Talented program by saying that he needed the medication because he was ADD. Luckily they put this in writing and I went to a lawyer. Teachers do not have the right to make a medical diagnosis. In fact in the state of Louisiana it is illegal. Now fast forward 8 years. I went to the same GP last week thinking that I had a virus and she shared with me the reports that she received from my son's doctors. Every one of them said that his poor habits were “probably transferred from the parent who exhibits symptoms of ADD and should be evaluated.” That's when I agreed to take the Ritalin. I listened to scottiet yesterday and about 30 minutes after I took the medication I started studying. For the first time in my life I knew what I was writing and actually learning the material. I was able to study for 8 hours without my mind wandering. For me it was never about going to check Facebook or e-mail but my mind would go off on a tangent and I would keep writing and basically wasting time. My GP has scheduled me with some of the same doctors that evaluated my son so hopefully we can get medication where it needs to be not just for studying and this exam but to improve the quality of my life!

[Anonymous]

@MLA

“I know you don't care, but you come across as angry. From playing armchair doctor to thinking anybody cares about your opinion.”

Haha, epic wi….. Errr… Um…. Touché'

@goodluckyoeveryone

You do seem angry. And in defense of Mini, I never log off either, but I don't expect people to analyze my online time or actually believe I am sitting at the computer while I am online, I just never turn my computer off because I don't want to close Becker… Because I am ironically in the middle of MCQ's, hana. btw you went to far bring someone's kids into it.

[Anonymous]

@drg1983

When you say it affects your health, can you elaborate? I'm just curious because I have some health symptoms that haven't been figured out yet by the docs and I think it has to do with spending so much time in the office in front of the computer. I was also diagnosed with ADD at a young age. I haven't taken medication for that since I was about 13 and I'm 27 now. I had some issues wih my attention span in high school, but did very well in college. Some doctors think you can “outgrow” ADD or ADHD, I'm not sure if I believe that

[Anonymous]

Someone is probably going to rip me for posting 3 x in a row, but one last thing…

@ dtomasello

“To all the people who believe you have “ADD” because you fart around the computer instead of studying, I can assure you its perfectly normal to procrastinate. Our society has become so intellectually lazy we'd rather pop a pill then actually exercise any kind of mental discipline”

How about trying not to be a d***? In my circle of friends we call it the “Don't be a D*** rule”. If you fail FAR again you might serve yourself from trying to take a pill, but not the kind for attention span, the kind for empathy. People really do have medical conditions… you'll learn that, trust me, life has a funny way of forcing you to be empathetic.

Alright, I have to stop farting around on this website, pop and pill and do some studying.

[Author]

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